1990 (9) TMI 186 - AT - Customs

Summary

Issues:
Classification of imported water pump ball bearings under the Customs Tariff Act, 1975.

Detailed Analysis:
The case involved the classification of imported water pump ball bearings under the Customs Tariff Act, 1975. The Collector of Customs, Bombay had initially assessed the goods under Heading 84.62(2) of the CTA 1975 and ordered the levy of CV duty under Tariff Item 49 of the Central Excise Tariff. The importer, dissatisfied with this assessment, filed refund claims seeking assessment under Heading 84.62(1) with CV duty under Tariff Item 68 alternatively. The Assistant Collector rejected the importer's contention that the goods should be treated as parts of a water pump or as a shaft, maintaining that water pump bearings were assessable under Heading 84.62(2) and CV duty was leviable under Tariff Item 49.

The importer then appealed to the Collector (Appeals), who, following a previous Tribunal decision, ordered the assessment under Heading 84.62(1) and the levy of CV duty under Tariff Item 49. The revenue, dissatisfied with this decision, appealed to the Tribunal. The revenue argued that the correct assessment for customs duty should be under Heading 84.62(2) of the CTA 1975. On the other hand, the respondent's consultant cited a previous Tribunal decision involving a similar product and contended that the appeals should be dismissed based on the earlier ruling.

After hearing both sides and considering the facts and circumstances, the Tribunal referred to the previous decision regarding spindle bearings or bearings with an integral shaft. The Tribunal held that such goods should be classified under Heading 84.62(1) of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, as they did not meet the conditions specified for classification under sub-heading (2) of Heading 84.62. The Tribunal emphasized that the goods must be assessed in the form in which they are imported and that the actual condition of the goods should not be ignored for classification purposes. Therefore, the Tribunal dismissed the revenue's appeals, upholding the classification of the imported water pump ball bearings under Heading 84.62(1) of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975.